Online SCUBA Diving Certification

Scuba diving is a physical sport that requires mastery of complicated equipment and real physical skills, so dive certification will always involve in-person, hands-on training. However, part of scuba diving training is also theoretical and knowledge-based, and this part can be learned online. Both of America's major dive training organizations offer an e-learning program, which can help simplify achieving dive certification.

  1. Misconceptions

    • "Online scuba diving certification" is something of a misnomer, because scuba e-learning does not actually certify anyone to dive. Instead, e-learning programs are a substitute for the classroom side of dive training. No scuba organization offering an e-learning program gives out full Open Water (OW) certification solely on the basis of an online education program.

    Types

    • Two scuba certification agencies in the United States offer an e-learning program, the National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI) and the Professional Association of Dive Instructors (PADI). Certificates from either agency are recognized worldwide, although of the two PADI has the largest network of affiliated dive schools and centers.

    Function

    • As previously mentioned, the e-learning programs of NAUI and PADI are substitutes for the classroom side of dive training. Enrolling in one of these online programs allows a student to learn at their own schedule and in the comfort of their own home. The result reduces the amount of time spent at the dive school down to just the training and certification dives.

    Considerations

    • Online scuba diving education is imminently flexible, since all it really requires is finding a school that works with the given e-learning program. Not every dive school affiliated with NAUI or PADI does this, but most do. The practical, hands-on training and certification dives can be conducted at a dive school either at or near a dive student's hometown, or while on vacation. Many students take an e-learning scuba course and then perform their training dives in such dive travel destinations as the Bahamas or Bali, truly making the most of their time. After e-learning, dive certification can be had in as little as three intensive days.

    Features

    • The NAUI and PADI programs are similar in most respects, and both require students to seek out a dive school prior to enrolling in their e-learning programs. This school will supply an identification number used in the e-learning registration process. Both programs have a minimum age of 13 due to Internet laws, although the minimum age for both their regular dive training programs is 10. These e-learning programs are interactive with a live instructor and conducted in real time. They include all the same films, quizzes and tests as a regular training program. The main difference is the venue, which is in the student's home instead of a dive school. Once a student has paid the fee and registered with the e-learning system, she retains access to the program's educational materials indefinitely.